Backwards compatibility using selective probe-response suppression

ABSTRACT

An electronic device may advertise a first BSSID and a second BSSID having a common SSID, separate wireless connection interfaces, and different capabilities, where the first BSSID may support a first IEEE 802.11 standard, and the second BSSID may support one or more previous IEEE 802.11 standards, but may not support the first IEEE 802.11 standard. Then, the electronic device may receive a probe request associated with a second electronic device. Moreover, the electronic device may determine whether the second electronic device supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard based at least in part on one or more fields in the probe request. Next, the electronic device may selectively provide a probe response to the second electronic device with one of the first BSSID and the second BSSID based at least in part on the determination.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/007,136, “Backwards Compatibility Using Selective-Probe-ResponseSuppression,” by Peter G. Khoury, et al., filed on Aug. 31, 2020, whichclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to: U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/930,148, “Backwards Compatibility Using SelectiveProbe-Response Suppression,” filed on Nov. 4, 2019; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/894,814, “Backwards Compatibility UsingSelective Probe-Response Suppression,” filed on Sep. 1, 2019, by PeterKhoury, et al., the contents of each of which are herein incorporated byreference.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate to techniques for an access point toprovide backwards compatibility by selectively transmitting a proberesponse in response to a probe request from an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Many electronic devices are capable of wirelessly communicating withother electronic devices. For example, these electronic devices caninclude a networking subsystem that implements a network interface for:a cellular network (UMTS, LTE, etc.), a wireless local area network(e.g., a wireless network such as described in the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard orBluetooth™ from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland,Wash.), and/or another type of wireless network.

Recently, new wireless standards, such as IEEE 802.11ax, offeradditional capabilities to compatible electronic devices relative toprevious IEEE 802.11 standards. However, not all of the electronicdevices in use support the new wireless standards. This can causeproblems for some of these legacy electronic devices in real-worlddeployments.

For example, in an IEEE 802.11-compatible wireless network, anelectronic device often actively scans for a nearby operating accesspoint by transmitting a probe request. In response to receiving a proberequest, an access point typically transmits a probe response. However,some legacy electronic devices may not be able to understand a proberesponse from an access point that is using IEEE-802.11ax (which issometimes referred to as ‘Wi-Fi 6’). Consequently, these legacyelectronic devices may not be able to associate with and use this accesspoint. Similarly, some legacy electronic devices may not be able to seea beacon from an access point that is using IEEE-802.11ax during apassive scan, and thus may not be able to associate with and use thisaccess point.

In principle, there are several brute-force solutions for this problem.Notably, in one approach, an IEEE-802.11ax-compatible access point maybe downgraded so that it operates using an earlier version of an IEEE802.11 standard (such as IEEE 802.11ac, which is sometimes referred toas ‘Wi-Fi 5’). While this approach will allow all legacy electronicdevices to use this access point, the advantages of IEEE 802.11ax willbe lost.

Similarly, a network administrator may have separate wireless areanetworks (WLANs) with different capabilities and names (includingdifferent service set identifiers or SSIDs, and different basic serviceset identifiers or BSSIDs). For example, there may be a first WLAN thatsupports Wi-Fi 5, and a second WLAN that supports Wi-Fi 6. In thisapproach, legacy electronic devices can associate with and use the firstWLAN, while electronic devices that support IEEE 802.11ax can associatewith and use the second WLAN. However, this approach is more complicatedand confusing (because it provides users with more than one choice), anddoes not address the problems that can occur if an electronic deviceattempts to associate with the wrong WLAN for its capabilities, such asif an IEEE 802.11ax-compatible electronic device associates with thefirst WLAN that only supports Wi-Fi 5.

SUMMARY

A first group of described embodiments relate to an electronic device(such as an access point). This electronic device includes an interfacecircuit that wirelessly communicates with a second electronic device.During operation, the electronic device may advertise, from theinterface circuit, a first BSSID and a second BSSID having a common SSID(i.e., in the same WLAN), separate wireless connection interfaces, anddifferent capabilities, where the first BSSID may support a first IEEE802.11 standard, and the second BSSID may support one or more previousIEEE 802.11 standards, but may not support the first IEEE 802.11standard. Then, the electronic device may receive, from the interfacecircuit, a probe request associated with the second electronic device.Moreover, the electronic device may determine whether the secondelectronic device supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard based at leastin part on one or more fields in the probe request. Next, the electronicdevice may selectively provide, to the interface circuit, a proberesponse intended for the second electronic device with one of the firstBSSID and the second BSSID based at least in part on the determination.

For example, the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax,and the one or more previous IEEE 802.11 standards may include one ormore of: IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE802.11ac. Thus, the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include Wi-Fi 6, andthe one or more previous IEEE 802.11 standards may include Wi-Fi 5.

Note that the one or more fields may include a high-efficiency (HE)field in a Media Access Control (MAC) header in the probe request.

Moreover, that the probe response may include the first BSSID when thedetermination indicates that the second electronic device supports thefirst IEEE 802.11 standard. Alternatively, the probe response mayinclude the second BSSID when the determination indicates that thesecond electronic device does not support the first IEEE 802.11standard. Thus, instead of receiving two probe responses (one for eachof the first BSSID and the second BSSID), the second electronic devicemay receive one probe response with the correct BSSID for itscapabilities.

Note that the probe request may include a broadcast probe request, whichmay include a wild-card SSID or it may include the SSID.

Furthermore, when the probe request includes a directed probe requestthat includes the second BSSID, and the determination indicates that thesecond electronic device supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard, theelectronic device may provide the probe response to the secondelectronic device with the second BSSID. Then, after the secondelectronic device has associated with the electronic device using thesecond BSSID, the electronic device may recommend that the secondelectronic device transition to the first BSSID (e.g., using a BSStransition management or BTM frame).

Another embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium for usewith the electronic device. This computer-readable storage medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed by the electronicdevice, cause the electronic device to perform at least some of theaforementioned operations.

Another embodiment provides a method. This method includes at least someof the operations performed by the electronic device.

A second group of described embodiments relate to an electronic device(such as an access point). This electronic device includes an interfacecircuit that wirelessly communicates with a second electronic device.During operation, the electronic device may transmit a multi-BSS beaconwith a transmitted BSSID and one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, and maytransmit separate (i.e., individual) beacons for the transmitted BSSIDand the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Then, the electronic devicemay receive, from the interface circuit, a probe request associated withthe second electronic device, where the probe request includes amulti-BSS indication. Next, the electronic device may selectivelyprovide, to the interface circuit, one or more probe responses, wherethe one or more probe responses include a type of probe response that isbased at least in part on the multi-BSS indication.

For example, when the multi-BSS indication indicates that the secondelectronic device supports multi-BSS, the one or more probe responsesmay include an aggregated probe response for the transmitted BSSID andthe one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Alternatively, when themulti-BSS indication indicates that the second electronic device doesnot support multi-BSS, the one or more probe responses may not includethe aggregated probe response. Instead, when the probe request is awild-card probe request, the one or more probe responses may includeseparate (i.e., individual) probe responses for the transmitted BSSIDand the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. (Note that this may occurwhen a legacy transmitted BSSID shares an SSID with a multi-BSSnon-transmitted BSSID.) Thus, the type of probe response may include anaggregated probe response for the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs, or a probe response for a given BSSID.

Note that, in response to a wild-card probe request, the probe responsesmay include the transmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs or the transmitted BSSID and one or more additional BSSIDs thatcorrespond to the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.

Another embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium for usewith the electronic device. This computer-readable storage medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed by the electronicdevice, cause the electronic device to perform at least some of theaforementioned operations.

Another embodiment provides a method. This method includes at least someof the operations performed by the electronic device.

A third group of described embodiments relate to an electronic device(such as an access point). This electronic device includes an interfacecircuit that wirelessly communicates with a second electronic device.During operation, the electronic device may transmit a multi-BSS beaconwith a broadcast bit at a first bit position in the multi-BSS beacon,and one or more unicast bits at one or more second bit positions in themulti-BSS beacon, where a first value of the broadcast bit may specify abroadcast to a group of one or more second electronic devices that areassociated with the electronic device, and a given value of a givenunicast bit may specify a unicast transmission to a given one of the oneor more second electronic devices. Then, the electronic device maytransmit a beacon to a second electronic device in the one or moresecond electronic devices, where the beacon includes a transmitted BSSIDin the multi-BSS beacon, a non-transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSS beaconor another BSSID corresponding to the non-transmitted BSSID in themulti-BSS beacon. Moreover, when the first value indicates the broadcastto the group, the beacon may include an element in which the first bitposition has a first value indicating the broadcast to the group, and inwhich a given second bit position in the one or more second bitpositions corresponding to the second electronic device has the firstvalue indicating the broadcast to the group.

Note that the broadcast bit and the one or more unicast bits in themulti-BSS beacon may be included in a multi-BSS element in the multi-BSSbeacon.

Another embodiment provides a computer-readable storage medium for usewith the electronic device. This computer-readable storage medium mayinclude program instructions that, when executed by the electronicdevice, cause the electronic device to perform at least some of theaforementioned operations.

Another embodiment provides a method. This method includes at least someof the operations performed by the electronic device.

This Summary is provided for purposes of illustrating some exemplaryembodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects ofthe subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciatedthat the above-described features are examples and should not beconstrued to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter describedherein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter described herein will become apparent from the followingDetailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for selectivelyproviding a probe response in the system in FIG. 1 in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an example of communication amongelectronic devices in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for selectivelyproviding a probe response in the system in FIG. 1 in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an example of communication amongelectronic devices in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an example of a multi-basic-service-set(BSS) beacon in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an example of a beacon in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example method for providing abeacon in the system in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a drawing illustrating an example of communication amongelectronic devices in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating an example of a multi-BSS beacon inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating an example of a beacon in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electronicdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Note that like reference numerals refer to corresponding partsthroughout the drawings. Moreover, multiple instances of the same partare designated by a common prefix separated from an instance number by adash.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In a first group of embodiments of communication techniques, anelectronic device (such as an access point) may advertise (bytransmitting beacons) a first BSSID and a second BSSID having a commonSSID (i.e., in the same WLAN), separate wireless connection interfaces,and different capabilities, where the first BSSID may support a firstIEEE 802.11 standard, and the second BSSID may support one or more other(e.g., previous) IEEE 802.11 standards, but may not support the firstIEEE 802.11 standard. Then, the electronic device may receive a proberequest associated with a second electronic device. Moreover, theelectronic device may determine whether the second electronic devicesupports the first IEEE 802.11 standard based at least in part on one ormore fields in the probe request. Next, the electronic device mayselectively provide a probe response to the second electronic devicewith one of the first BSSID and the second BSSID based at least in parton the determination. For example, the probe response may be providedwith the BSSID that matches the capabilities of the second electronicdevice.

By selectively providing the probe response, the communicationtechniques may provide backwards compatibility. Notably, when the secondelectronic device supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard, the proberesponse may include the first BSSID. Alternatively, when the secondelectronic device supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard and the proberequest includes the second BSSID, the probe response may include thesecond BSSID and, subsequently, the electronic device may recommend thatthe second electronic device transition to the first BSSID. Furthermore,when the second electronic device does not support the first IEEE 802.11standard, the probe response may include the second BSSID. Thiscapability may allow legacy electronic devices and new electronicdevices to coexist and to be supported by the electronic device.Consequently, the communication techniques may reduce user frustrationwhen using the electronic device, the second electronic device and theassociated wireless network and, thus, may provide an improved userexperience.

In a second group of embodiments of communication techniques, anelectronic device (such as an access point) may transmit a multi-BSSbeacon with a transmitted BSSID and one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs,and may transmit separate (i.e., individual) beacons for the transmittedBSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Then, the electronicdevice may receive a probe request associated with the second electronicdevice, where the probe request includes a multi-BSS indication. Next,the electronic device may selectively provide one or more proberesponse, where the one or more probe responses include a type of proberesponse that is based at least in part on the multi-BSS indication.

By selectively providing the probe response, the communicationtechniques may provide backwards compatibility and may reducemanagement-frame overhead. Notably, when the multi-BSS indicationindicates that the second electronic device supports multi-BSS, the oneor more probe responses include an aggregated probe response for thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.Alternatively, when the multi-BSS indication indicates that the secondelectronic device does not support multi-BSS, the one or more proberesponses may not include the aggregated probe response. Instead, whenthe probe request is a wild-card probe request, the one or more proberesponses may include separate (i.e., individual) probe responses forthe transmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Thiscapability may allow legacy electronic devices that do not supportmulti-BSS and new electronic devices to coexist and to be supported bythe electronic device. Consequently, the communication techniques mayreduce management-frame overhead and may provide more effective scans.Thus, the communication techniques may improve communicationperformance, may reduce user frustration when using the electronicdevice, the second electronic device and the associated wireless networkand, thus, may provide an improved user experience.

In a third group of embodiments of communication techniques, anelectronic device (such as an access point) may transmit a multi-BSSbeacon with a broadcast bit at a first bit position in the multi-BSSbeacon, and one or more unicast bits at one or more second bit positionsin the multi-BSS beacon. These bits may, respectively, indicate orspecify a broadcast to a group of one or more second electronic devicesthat are associated with the electronic device, or a unicasttransmission to a given one of the one or more second electronicdevices. Then, the electronic device may transmit a beacon to a secondelectronic device in the one or more second electronic devices. In somecases, the probe response may be a legacy probe response that may not beconfigured in accordance with a latest version of a communicationstandard. When there us broadcast traffic for the group, the beacon mayinclude an element in which the first bit position has a first valueindicating the broadcast to the group, and in which a given second bitposition in the one or more second bit positions corresponding to thesecond electronic device has the first value indicating the broadcast tothe group.

By providing indications of the broadcast to the group in the first bitposition and the given second bit position, the communication techniquesmay ensure that a multi-BSS-compatible electronic device that receivesthe beacon detects the indication of the broadcast to the group.Notably, electronic devices that support an IEEE 802.11 standard such asWi-Fi 6 may not look for or may miss the first bit position in thebeacon. Therefore, to ensure that they detect the indication of thebroadcast to the group in such a legacy beacon, the beacon may have aduplicate or redundant indication at the given second bit position.Moreover, by reserving the one or more second bit positions in legacybeacons for the one or more second electronic devices, these legacybeacons may be compatible with or consistent with the multi-BSS beacon.This capability may allow legacy electronic devices that do not supportmulti-BSS and new electronic devices that support multi-BSS to coexist.Consequently, the communication techniques may provide more effectivescans. Thus, the communication techniques may reduce user frustrationwhen using the electronic device, the second electronic device and theassociated wireless network and, thus, may provide an improved userexperience.

In the discussion that follows, electronic devices or components in asystem communicate packets in accordance with a wireless communicationprotocol, such as: a wireless communication protocol that is compatiblewith an IEEE 802.11 standard (which is sometimes referred to as‘Wi-Fi®,’ from the Wi-Fi Alliance of Austin, Tex.), Bluetooth, and/oranother type of wireless interface (such as anotherwireless-local-area-network interface). Moreover, an access point in thesystem may communicate with a controller or services using a wiredcommunication protocol, such as a wired communication protocol that iscompatible with an IEEE 802.3 standard (which is sometimes referred toas ‘Ethernet’), e.g., an Ethernet II standard. However, a wide varietyof communication protocols may be used in the system, including wiredand/or wireless communication. In the discussion that follows, Wi-Fi andEthernet are used as illustrative examples.

We now describe some embodiments of the communication techniques. FIG. 1presents a block diagram illustrating an example of a system 110, whichmay include components, such as: one or more access points 112, one ormore electronic devices 114 (such as cellular telephones, stations orclients, another type of electronic device, etc.), and one or moreoptional controllers 116. In system 110, one or more of the one or moreaccess points 112 may wirelessly communicate with one or more of the oneor more electronic devices 114 using wireless communication that iscompatible with an IEEE 802.11 standard. Thus, the wirelesscommunication may occur in, e.g., a 2.4 GHz, a 5 GHz and/or a 60 GHzfrequency band. (Note that IEEE 802.11 ad communication over a 60 GHzfrequency band is sometimes referred to as ‘WiGig.’ In the presentdiscussion, these embodiments are also encompassed by ‘Wi-Fi.’) However,a wide variety of frequency bands may be used. Moreover, the one or moreaccess points 112 may communicate with the one or more optionalcontrollers 116 via network 118 (such as the Internet, an intra-netand/or one or more dedicated links). Note that the one or more optionalcontrollers 116 may be at the same location as the other components insystem 110 or may be located remotely (i.e., at a different location).Moreover, note that the one or more access points 112 may be managedand/or configured by the one or more optional controllers 116.Furthermore, note that the one or more access points 112 may provideaccess to network 118 (e.g., via an Ethernet protocol), and may be aphysical access point or a virtual or ‘software’ access point that isimplemented on a computer or an electronic device. While not shown inFIG. 1 , there may be additional components or electronic devices, suchas a router.

Additionally, as noted previously, the one or more access points 112 andthe one or more electronic devices 114 may communicate via wirelesscommunication. Notably, one or more of access points 112 and one or moreof electronic devices 114 may wirelessly communicate while: transmittingadvertising frames on wireless channels, detecting one another byscanning wireless channels, exchanging subsequent data/management frames(such as association requests and responses) to establish a connection,configure security options (e.g., Internet Protocol Security), transmitand receive frames or packets via the connection (which may include theassociation requests and/or additional information as payloads), etc.

As described further below with reference to FIG. 12 , the one or moreaccess points 112, the one or more electronic devices 114 and/or the oneor more optional controllers 116 may include subsystems, such as anetworking subsystem, a memory subsystem and a processor subsystem. Inaddition, the one or more access points 112 and the one or moreelectronic devices 114 may include radios 120 in the networkingsubsystems. More generally, the one or more access points 112 and theone or more electronic devices 114 can include (or can be includedwithin) any electronic devices with the networking subsystems thatenable the one or more access points 112 and the one or more electronicdevices 114 to wirelessly communicate with each other.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 , wireless signals 122 (represented by a jaggedline) are transmitted from a radio 120-2 in electronic device 114-1.These wireless signals are received by radio 120-1 in at least one ofthe one or more access points 112, such as access point 112-1. Notably,electronic device 114-1 may transmit frames or packets. In turn, theseframes or packets may be received by access point 112-1. This may allowelectronic device 114-1 to communicate information to access point112-1. Note that the communication between electronic device 114-1 andaccess point 112-1 may be characterized by a variety of performancemetrics, such as: a data rate, a data rate for successful communication(which is sometimes referred to as a ‘throughput’), an error rate (suchas a retry or resend rate), a mean-square error of equalized signalsrelative to an equalization target, intersymbol interference, multipathinterference, a signal-to-noise ratio, a width of an eye pattern, aratio of number of bytes successfully communicated during a timeinterval (such as 1-10 s) to an estimated maximum number of bytes thatcan be communicated in the time interval (the latter of which issometimes referred to as the ‘capacity’ of a communication channel orlink), and/or a ratio of an actual data rate to an estimated data rate(which is sometimes referred to as ‘utilization’). While instances ofradios 120 are shown in the one or more electronic devices 114 and theone or more access points 112, one or more of these instances may bedifferent from the other instances of radios 120.

As noted previously, electronic devices 114 may regularly transmitmultiple probe requests. If an access point (such as access point 112-1)is compatible with and uses an IEEE 802.11 standard that is notsupported by a legacy electronic device (such as electronic device114-1) that has a radio from a particular manufacturer (i.e., electronicdevice 114-1 may be in a subset of legacy electronic devices), then,when access point 112-1 provides a probe response in response to a proberequest from electronic device 114-1 (such as a wild-card proberequest), electronic device 114-1 may not be able to receive the proberesponse. This may prevent electronic device 114-1 from associating withand, thus, communicating with access point 112-1. Similarly, whileaccess point 112-1 may broadcast beacons, electronic device 112-1 maynot be able to receive the beacons during a passive scan. Once again,this may prevent electronic device 114-1 from associating with and,thus, communicating with access point 112-1.

In order to address these challenges, at least one of access points 112(such as an access point that supports a new IEEE 802.11 standard, e.g.,access point 112-1) may implement or use the communication techniquesaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. Notably, asdiscussed further below with reference to FIGS. 2-3 , during thecommunication techniques access point 112-1 may advertise a first BSSIDand a second BSSID having a common SSID (i.e., in the same WLAN),separate wireless connection interfaces, and different capabilities. Forexample, the first BSSID may support a first IEEE 802.11 standard, andthe second BSSID may support one or more previous IEEE 802.11 standards,but may not support the first IEEE 802.11 standard. In some embodiments,the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include IEEE 802.11ax, and the one ormore previous IEEE 802.11 standards may include one or more of: IEEE802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE 802.11ac.Thus, the first IEEE 802.11 standard may include Wi-Fi 6, and the one ormore previous IEEE 802.11 standards may include Wi-Fi 5.

Then, access point 112-1 may receive a probe request from electronicdevice 114-1. Moreover, access point 112-1 may determine whetherelectronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard based atleast in part on one or more fields in the probe request. For example,the one or more fields may include at least an HE field in a MAC headerin the probe request. When the HE field is present, access point 112-1may determine that electronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE802.11 standard.

Next, access point 112-1 may selectively provide a probe response toelectronic device 114-1 based at least in part on the determination. Forexample, the probe response may include the first BSSID when thedetermination indicates that electronic device 114-1 supports the firststandard. Furthermore, the probe response may include the second BSSIDwhen the determination indicates that electronic device 114-1 does notsupport the first IEEE 802.11 standard.

Note that access point 112-1 may respond to directed probe requests thatinclude the first BSSID or the second BSSID with a corresponding proberesponse that includes the first BSSID or the second BSSID. For example,when the probe request includes the second BSSID and the determinationindicates that electronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE 802.11standard, access point 112-1 may provide the probe response with thesecond BSSID to electronic device 114-1. Then, after electronic device114-1 has associated with access point 112-1 using the second BSSID,access point 112-1 may recommend that electronic device 114-1 transitionto the first BSSID (e.g., using a BSS transition management or BTMframe).

In these ways, access points that use the communication techniques mayprovide backwards compatibility to legacy electronic devices and maysupport electronic devices that support and use a new IEEE 802.11standard (such as the first IEEE 802.11 standard). Notably, access point112-1 may ensure that electronic device 114-1 selectively receives anappropriate probe response (including the correct BSSID) based at leastin part on the capabilities of electronic device 114-1 (such as whetheror not electronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard).Thus, the communication techniques may allow legacy electronic devicesand new electronic devices to coexist and to be supported by accesspoint 112-1, while minimizing management traffic. Consequently, thecommunication techniques may reduce user frustration when using accesspoint 112-1, electronic device 114-1 and the associated WLAN having thecommon SSID and, thus, may provide an improved user experience.

Similarly, multi-BSS capability allows access points to aggregatebeacons and/or probe responses together, which can reduce managementfrom overhead in a WLAN. However, not all of electronic devices 114 maysupport multi-BSS capability. Thus, once again, there may be acoexistence problem, in which different electronic devices in operationin an environment have different capabilities.

In order to address these challenges, at least one of access points 112(such as an access point that supports multi-BSS, e.g., access point112-1) may implement or use the communication techniques. Notably, asdiscussed further below with reference to FIGS. 4-7 , during thecommunication techniques access point 112-1 may transmit a multi-BSSbeacon with a transmitted BSSID and one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs,and may transmit separate (i.e., individual) beacons for the transmittedBSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Then, access point112-1 may receive a probe request associated with electronic device114-1, where the probe request includes a multi-BSS indication (such asa multi-BSS bit). Next, access point 112-1 may selectively provide oneor more probe responses, where the one or more probe responses include atype of probe response that is based at least in part on the multi-BSSindication.

For example, when the multi-BSS indication indicates that electronicdevice 114-1 supports multi-BSS, the one or more probe responses mayinclude an aggregated probe response for the transmitted BSSID and theone or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Alternatively, when the multi-BSSindication indicates that electronic device 114-1 does not supportmulti-BSS, the one or more probe responses may not include theaggregated probe response. Instead, when the probe request is awild-card probe request, the one or more probe responses may includeseparate (i.e., individual) probe responses for the transmitted BSSIDand the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. (Note that the BSSIDs in theindividual probe responses for the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDsmay correspond to the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, because theyhave the same SSIDs as the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, but theseBSSIDs may not be the same as the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.This is because legacy electronic devices do not support the aggregatedor multi-BSS feature, so access point 112-1 may have separate wirelessconnection interfaces with the corresponding (but different) BSSIDs and,as noted previously, the same SSIDs as the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs. However, in some embodiments, the individual probe responses forthe one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs may include the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs.) Thus, the type of probe response may include anaggregated probe response for the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs, or a probe response for a given BSSID.

Moreover, as described further below with reference to FIGS. 8-11 ,during the communication techniques access point 112-1 may transmit amulti-BSS beacon. The multi-BSS beacon may include a broadcast bit at afirst bit position in the multi-BSS beacon, and one or more unicast bitsat one or more second bit positions in the multi-BSS beacon. Moreover, afirst value of the broadcast bit may specify a broadcast to a group ofone or more of electronic devices 114 that are associated with accesspoint 112-1, and a given value of a given unicast bit may specify aunicast transmission to a given one of the one or more electronicdevices 114 (such as electronic device 114-1).

Then, access point 112-1 may transmit a beacon to electronic device114-1, where the beacon includes a transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSSbeacon, a non-transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSS beacon or another BSSIDcorresponding to the non-transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSS beacon.Moreover, when the broadcast bit has the first value indicating thebroadcast is to the group, the beacon may include an element in whichthe first bit position has a first value indicating the broadcast to thegroup, and in which a given second bit position in the one or moresecond bit positions corresponding to the second electronic device hasthe first value indicating the broadcast to the group.

In these ways, access points that use the communication techniques mayprovide backwards compatibility to legacy electronic devices and maysupport electronic devices that support and use multi-BSS. Notably,access point 112-1 may ensure that electronic device 114-1 selectivelyreceives an appropriate type of probe response based at least in part onthe capabilities of electronic device 114-1 (such as whether or notelectronic device 114-1 supports multi-BSS). Thus, the communicationtechniques may allow legacy electronic devices and new electronicdevices to coexist and to be supported by access point 112-1.Consequently, the communication techniques may reduce the number ofprobe responses (and, thus, the probe-response management overhead) inthe WLAN, may improve performance and reduce user frustration when usingaccess point 112-1, electronic device 114-1 and the associated WLAN and,thus, may provide an improved user experience.

In the described embodiments, processing a frame or a packet in a givenone of the one or more access points 112 or a given one of the one ormore electronic devices 114 may include: receiving wireless signals 122with the frame or packet; decoding/extracting the frame or packet fromthe received wireless signals 122 to acquire the frame or packet; andprocessing the frame or packet to determine information contained in theframe or packet.

Although we describe the network environment shown in FIG. 1 as anexample, in alternative embodiments, different numbers or types ofelectronic devices or components may be present. For example, someembodiments comprise more or fewer electronic devices or components.Therefore, in some embodiments there may be fewer or additionalinstances of at least some of the one or more access points 112, the oneor more electronic devices 114 and/or the one or more optionalcontrollers 116. As another example, in another embodiment, differentelectronic devices are transmitting and/or receiving frames or packets.

We now describe embodiments of the method. FIG. 2 presents an example ofa flow diagram illustrating an example method 200 for selectivelyproviding a probe response. Moreover, method 200 may be performed by anelectronic device, such as one of the one or more access points 112 inFIG. 1 , e.g., access point 112-1.

During operation, an electronic device may advertise a first BSSID and asecond BSSID (operation 210) having a common SSID, separate wirelessconnection interfaces, and different capabilities, where the first BSSIDmay support a first IEEE 802.11 standard, and the second BSSID maysupport one or more previous IEEE 802.11 standards, but may not supportthe first IEEE 802.11 standard. For example, the first IEEE 802.11standard may include IEEE 802.11ax, and the one or more previous IEEE802.11 standards may include one or more of: IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b,IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE 802.11ac. Thus, the first IEEE802.11 standard may include Wi-Fi 6, and the one or more previous IEEE802.11 standards may include Wi-Fi 5.

Then, the electronic device may receive a probe request (operation 212)associated with a second electronic device. Moreover, the electronicdevice may determine whether the second electronic device supports thefirst IEEE 802.11 standard (operation 214) based at least in part on oneor more fields in the probe request. Note that the one or more fieldsmay include an HE field in a MAC header in the probe request, and thedetermination may be based at least in part on the presence or absenceof at least the HE field.

Next, the electronic device may selectively provide a probe response(operation 216) intended for the second electronic device based at leastin part on the determination. For example, the probe response mayinclude the first BSSID when the determination indicates that the secondelectronic device supports the first IEEE 802.11 standard. Furthermore,the probe response may include the second BSSID when the determinationindicates that the second electronic device does not support the firstIEEE 802.11 standard.

Note that the probe request may include a broadcast probe request, whichmay include a wild-card SSID or it may include the SSID. However, whenthe probe request includes a BSSID (i.e., the probe request is adirected probe request), the electronic device may provide a proberesponse with the BSSID, even if it does not match the capabilities ofthe second electronic device. However, when this occurs, the electronicdevice may perform a remedial action. For example, when thedetermination indicates that the second electronic device supports thefirst IEEE 802.11 standard and the probe request includes the secondBSSID, the electronic device may provide the probe response with thesecond BSSID to the second electronic device. Then, after the secondelectronic device has associated with the electronic device using thesecond BSSID, the electronic device may recommend that the secondelectronic device transition to the first BSSID.

FIG. 3 presents a drawing illustrating an example of communicationbetween access point 112-1 and electronic device 114-1. In FIG. 3 , aninterface circuit (IC) 310 in access point 112-1 may transmit or providea beacon 312 with a first BSSID and a beacon 314 with a second BSSID.These BSSIDs may have a common SSID, separate wireless connectioninterfaces, and different capabilities. For example, the first BSSID maysupport a first IEEE 802.11 standard, and the second BSSID may supportone or more previous IEEE 802.11 standards, but may not support thefirst IEEE 802.11 standard.

In response to at least one of beacons 312 and 314, an interface circuit316 in electronic device 114-1 may provide a probe request 318. Afterreceiving probe request 318, interface circuit 310 may determine 324whether electronic device 114-1 supports the first IEEE 802.11 standardbased at least in part on one or more fields 322 in probe request 318.

Next, interface circuit 310 may selectively provide a probe response 326to electronic device 114-1 based at least in part on the determination324. For example, probe response 326 may include the appropriate BSSID(i.e., the first BSSID or the second BSSID) that has capabilities thatmatch those of electronic device 114-1.

FIG. 4 presents an example of a flow diagram illustrating an examplemethod 400 for selectively providing a probe response. Moreover, method400 may be performed by an electronic device, such as one of the one ormore access points 112 in FIG. 1 , e.g., access point 112-1.

During operation, an electronic device may transmit a multi-BSS beacon(operation 410) with a transmitted BSSID and one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs, and may transmit separate beacons for the transmitted BSSID andthe one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Then, the electronic device mayreceive a probe request (operation 412) associated with the secondelectronic device, where the probe request includes a multi-BSSindication. Next, the electronic device may selectively provide one ormore probe responses (operation 414), where the one or more proberesponses include a type of probe response that is based at least inpart on the multi-BSS indication.

For example, when the multi-BSS indication indicates that the secondelectronic device supports multi-BSS, the one or more probe responsesmay include an aggregated probe response for the transmitted BSSID andthe one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Alternatively, when themulti-BSS indication indicates that the second electronic device doesnot support multi-BSS, the one or more probe responses may not includethe aggregated probe response. Instead, when the probe request is awild-card probe request, the one or more probe responses may includeseparate probe responses for the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs. Thus, the type of probe response may include anaggregated probe response for the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs, or a probe response for a given BSSID (e.g., aset of probe responses for each of the BSSIDs).

Note that, in response to a wild-card probe request, the probe responsesmay include the transmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs or the transmitted BSSID and one or more additional BSSIDs thatcorrespond to the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.

FIG. 5 presents a drawing illustrating an example of communicationbetween access point 112-1 and electronic device 114-1. In FIG. 5 , aninterface circuit 510 in access point 112-1 may transmit or provide amulti-BSS beacon 512 with a transmitted BSSID and one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs, and may transmit separate beacons 514 for thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.

In response to at least one of the multi-BSS beacon 512 or one ofbeacons 514, an interface circuit 516 in electronic device 114-1 mayprovide a probe request 518 to access point 112-1. This probe requestmay include a multi-BSS indication 520.

After receiving probe request 518, interface circuit 510 may selectivelyprovide one or more probe responses 522, where the one or more proberesponses 522 include a type of probe response that is based at least inpart on the multi-BSS indication 520. For example, when the multi-BSSindication 520 indicates that electronic device 114-1 supportsmulti-BSS, the one or more probe responses 522 may include an aggregateprobe response for the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs. Alternatively, when the multi-BSS indication 520indicates that electronic device 114-1 does not support multi-BSS, theone or more probe responses 522 may include separate probe responses forthe transmitted BSSID and each of the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs.

FIG. 6 presents a drawing illustrating an example of a multi-BSS beacon600. Notably, the multi-BSS beacon 600 may include a beacon 610 with anSSID 612 and a BSSID 614 (which is sometimes referred to as a‘transmitted BSSID’). In addition, the multi-BSS beacon 600 may includeSSIDs 616 and associated BSSIDs 618 (which are sometimes referred to as‘non-transmitted BSSIDs’). For example, BSSID 618-1 may equal BSSID 614plus one, BSSID 618-2 may equal BSSID 614 plus two, etc.

FIG. 7 presents a drawing illustrating an example of a beacon 700 for aparticular BSSID. Notably, beacon 700 may include an SSID 710 (which maybe one of SSID 612 or one of SSIDs 616) and a BSSID 712. In someembodiments, a legacy beacon (such as beacon 700) may be identifiedrelative to a multi-BSS beacon (such as multi-BSS beacon 600 in FIG. 6 )by the inclusion of a MAC address in the beacon.

Note that the multi-BSS beacon 600 (FIG. 6 ) and/or beacon 700 mayinclude additional information, less information or differentinformation from that shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 .

FIG. 8 presents a flow diagram illustrating an example method 800 forproviding a beacon. Moreover, method 800 may be performed by anelectronic device, such as one of the one or more access points 112 inFIG. 1 , e.g., access point 112-1.

During operation, an electronic device (e.g., access point 112-1) maytransmit a multi-BSS beacon (operation 810) with a broadcast bit at afirst bit position in the multi-BSS beacon, and one or more unicast bitsat one or more second bit positions in the multi-BSS beacon, where afirst value of the broadcast bit may specify a broadcast to a group ofone or more second electronic devices that are associated with theelectronic device, and a given value of a given unicast bit may specifya unicast transmission to a given one of the one or more secondelectronic devices. Then, the electronic device may transmit a beacon(operation 812) to a second electronic device in the one or more secondelectronic devices, where the beacon includes a transmitted BSSID in themulti-BSS beacon, a non-transmitted BSSID in the multi-BSS beacon oranother BSSID corresponding to the non-transmitted BSSID in themulti-BSS beacon. Moreover, when there is broadcast traffic for thegroup, the beacon may include an element in which the first bit positionhas a first value indicating the broadcast to the group, and in which agiven second bit position in the one or more second bit positionscorresponding to the second electronic device has the first valueindicating the broadcast to the group.

Note that the broadcast bit and the one or more unicast bits in themulti-BSS beacon may be included in a multi-BSS element in the multi-BSSbeacon.

In some embodiments of methods 200 (FIG. 2 ), 400 (FIG. 4 ) and/or 800,there may be additional or fewer operations. Moreover, there may bedifferent operations. Furthermore, the order of the operations may bechanged, and/or two or more operations may be combined into a singleoperation.

FIG. 9 presents a drawing illustrating an example of communicationbetween access point 112-1 and electronic device 114-1. In FIG. 9 , aninterface circuit 910 in access point 112-1 may transmit or provide amulti-BSS beacon 912 with a transmitted BSSID and one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs, and may transmit separate beacons 914 for thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs. Note thatmulti-BSS beacon 912 may include a broadcast bit at a first bit positionin the multi-BSS beacon, and one or more unicast bits at one or moresecond bit positions in the multi-BSS beacon.

Moreover, one of beacons 914, which is transmitted to electronic device114-1, may include the transmitted BSSID in multi-BSS beacon 912, thenon-transmitted BSSID in multi-BSS beacon 912 or the other BSSIDcorresponding to the non-transmitted BSSID in multi-BSS beacon 912.Moreover, when there is broadcast traffic for the group, beacon 918 mayinclude an element in which the first bit position has a first valueindicating the broadcast to the group, and in which a given second bitposition in the one or more second bit positions corresponding to thesecond electronic device has the first value indicating the broadcast tothe group.

While FIGS. 3, 5 and 9 illustrate some operations using unilateral orbilateral communication (which are, respectively, represented byone-sided and two-sided arrows), in general a given operation in FIGS.3, 5 and 9 may involve unilateral or bilateral communication.

FIG. 10 presents a drawing illustrating an example of a multi-BSS beacon1000. Notably, the multi-BSS beacon 1000 may include a multi-BSS element1010. A bit 1012 (such as bit zero) in multi-BSS element 1010 may be abroadcast bit, and bits 1014 (such as bits one, two and three) inmulti-BSS element 1010 may be unicast bits. As discussed previously, afirst value (such as ‘1’) of the broadcast bit may specify a broadcastto a group of electronic devices that are associated with an accesspoint, and a given value (such as ‘1’) of a given unicast bit mayspecify a unicast transmission to a given one of the electronic devices.Moreover, as discussed previously with reference to FIG. 6 , multi-BSSbeacon 1000 may include a transmitted BSSID and one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs.

FIG. 11 presents a drawing illustrating an example of a beacon 1100 fora particular BSSID. Notably, beacon 1100 may include an element 1110. Abit 1112 (such as bit zero) in element 1110 may be a broadcast bit, andbits 1114 (such as bits one, two and three) in element 1110 may bereserved for broadcast bits that are targeted to specific electronicdevices having SSIDs. (Consequently, the first bit in element 1110 thatis available to set or specify an association identifier (AID) may bethe next bit after bits 1114.) Moreover, when the first value of bit1012 (FIG. 10 ) indicates the broadcast to the group, bit 1112 may havethe first value, and a given one of bits 1114 associated with aparticular electronic device having an SSID (and corresponding to thesame one of bits 1014 in FIG. 10 ) may also have the first value.

For example, bits 1114 may include three bits. Thus, the first four bitsin element 1110 may be reserved for specifying or indicating broadcastbits, either to the entire group (via bit 1112) and/or using specific ortargeted bits in bits 1114. Notably, a first client or electronic devicemay be assigned a first bit (bit one) in bits 1114, a second client orelectronic device may be assigned a second bit (bit two) in bits 1114,and a third client or electronic device may be assigned a third bit (bitthree) in bits 1114. Consequently, when the broadcast bit is set to thefirst value in a multi-BSS beacon, a beacon may have bit zero (bit 1112)set to the first value and bit two (in bits 1114) set to the firstvalue.

Note that the multi-BSS beacon 1000 (FIG. 10 ) and/or beacon 1100 mayinclude additional information, less information or differentinformation from that shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 .

We now describe embodiments of an electronic device, which may performat least some of the operations in the communication techniques. Forexample, the electronic device may include a component in system 110,such as one of: the one or more access points 112, the one or moreelectronic devices 114 and/or the one or more optional controllers 116.FIG. 12 presents a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 1200in accordance with some embodiments. This electronic device includesprocessing subsystem 1210, memory subsystem 1212, and networkingsubsystem 1214. Processing subsystem 1210 includes one or more devicesconfigured to perform computational operations. For example, processingsubsystem 1210 can include one or more microprocessors, ASICs,microcontrollers, programmable-logic devices, graphical processor units(GPUs) and/or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs).

Memory subsystem 1212 includes one or more devices for storing dataand/or instructions for processing subsystem 1210 and networkingsubsystem 1214. For example, memory subsystem 1212 can include dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), and/orother types of memory (which collectively or individually are sometimesreferred to as a ‘computer-readable storage medium’). In someembodiments, instructions for processing subsystem 1210 in memorysubsystem 1212 include: one or more program modules or sets ofinstructions (such as program instructions 1222 or operating system1224), which may be executed by processing subsystem 1210. Note that theone or more computer programs may constitute a computer-programmechanism. Moreover, instructions in the various modules in memorysubsystem 1212 may be implemented in: a high-level procedural language,an object-oriented programming language, and/or in an assembly ormachine language. Furthermore, the programming language may be compiledor interpreted, e.g., configurable or configured (which may be usedinterchangeably in this discussion), to be executed by processingsubsystem 1210.

In addition, memory subsystem 1212 can include mechanisms forcontrolling access to the memory. In some embodiments, memory subsystem1212 includes a memory hierarchy that comprises one or more cachescoupled to a memory in electronic device 1200. In some of theseembodiments, one or more of the caches is located in processingsubsystem 1210.

In some embodiments, memory subsystem 1212 is coupled to one or morehigh-capacity mass-storage devices (not shown). For example, memorysubsystem 1212 can be coupled to a magnetic or optical drive, asolid-state drive, or another type of mass-storage device. In theseembodiments, memory subsystem 1212 can be used by electronic device 1200as fast-access storage for often-used data, while the mass-storagedevice is used to store less frequently used data.

Networking subsystem 1214 includes one or more devices configured tocouple to and communicate on a wired and/or wireless network (i.e., toperform network operations), including: control logic 1216, an interfacecircuit 1218 and one or more antennas 1220 (or antenna elements). (WhileFIG. 12 includes one or more antennas 1220, in some embodimentselectronic device 1200 includes one or more nodes, such as nodes 1208,e.g., a pad, which can be coupled to the one or more antennas 1220.Thus, electronic device 1200 may or may not include the one or moreantennas 1220.) For example, networking subsystem 1214 can include aBluetooth networking system, a cellular networking system (e.g., a3G/4G/5G network such as UMTS, LTE, etc.), a USB networking system, anetworking system based on the standards described in IEEE 802.11 (e.g.,a Wi-Fi networking system), an Ethernet networking system, and/oranother networking system.

In some embodiments, a transmit antenna radiation pattern of electronicdevice 1200 may be adapted or changed using pattern shapers (such asreflectors) in one or more antennas 1220 (or antenna elements), whichcan be independently and selectively electrically coupled to ground tosteer the transmit antenna radiation pattern in different directions.Thus, if one or more antennas 1220 includes N antenna-radiation-patternshapers, the one or more antennas 1220 may have 2^(N) differentantenna-radiation-pattern configurations. More generally, a givenantenna radiation pattern may include amplitudes and/or phases ofsignals that specify a direction of the main or primary lobe of thegiven antenna radiation pattern, as well as so-called ‘exclusionregions’ or ‘exclusion zones’ (which are sometimes referred to as‘notches’ or ‘nulls’). Note that an exclusion zone of the given antennaradiation pattern includes a low-intensity region of the given antennaradiation pattern. While the intensity is not necessarily zero in theexclusion zone, it may be below a threshold, such as 3 dB or lower thanthe peak gain of the given antenna radiation pattern. Thus, the givenantenna radiation pattern may include a local maximum (e.g., a primarybeam) that directs gain in the direction of an electronic device that isof interest, and one or more local minima that reduce gain in thedirection of other electronic devices that are not of interest. In thisway, the given antenna radiation pattern may be selected so thatcommunication that is undesirable (such as with the other electronicdevices) is avoided to reduce or eliminate adverse effects, such asinterference or crosstalk.

Networking subsystem 1214 includes processors, controllers,radios/antennas, sockets/plugs, and/or other devices used for couplingto, communicating on, and handling data and events for each supportednetworking system. Note that mechanisms used for coupling to,communicating on, and handling data and events on the network for eachnetwork system are sometimes collectively referred to as a ‘networkinterface’ for the network system. Moreover, in some embodiments a‘network’ or a ‘connection’ between the electronic devices does not yetexist. Therefore, electronic device 1200 may use the mechanisms innetworking subsystem 1214 for performing simple wireless communicationbetween the electronic devices, e.g., transmitting frames and/orscanning for frames transmitted by other electronic devices.

Within electronic device 1200, processing subsystem 1210, memorysubsystem 1212, and networking subsystem 1214 are coupled together usingbus 1228. Bus 1228 may include an electrical, optical, and/orelectro-optical connection that the subsystems can use to communicatecommands and data among one another. Although only one bus 1228 is shownfor clarity, different embodiments can include a different number orconfiguration of electrical, optical, and/or electro-optical connectionsamong the subsystems.

In some embodiments, electronic device 1200 includes a display subsystem1226 for displaying information on a display, which may include adisplay driver and the display, such as a liquid-crystal display, amulti-touch touchscreen, etc.

Electronic device 1200 can be (or can be included in) any electronicdevice with at least one network interface. For example, electronicdevice 1200 can be (or can be included in): a desktop computer, a laptopcomputer, a subnotebook/netbook, a server, a computer, a mainframecomputer, a cloud-based computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, acellular telephone, a smartwatch, a wearable device, aconsumer-electronic device, a portable computing device, an accesspoint, a transceiver, a controller, a radio node, a router, a switch,communication equipment, a wireless dongle, test equipment, and/oranother electronic device.

Although specific components are used to describe electronic device1200, in alternative embodiments, different components and/or subsystemsmay be present in electronic device 1200. For example, electronic device1200 may include one or more additional processing subsystems, memorysubsystems, networking subsystems, and/or display subsystems.Additionally, one or more of the subsystems may not be present inelectronic device 1200. Moreover, in some embodiments, electronic device1200 may include one or more additional subsystems that are not shown inFIG. 12 . Also, although separate subsystems are shown in FIG. 12 , insome embodiments some or all of a given subsystem or component can beintegrated into one or more of the other subsystems or component(s) inelectronic device 1200. For example, in some embodiments programinstructions 1222 are included in operating system 1224 and/or controllogic 1216 is included in interface circuit 1218.

Moreover, the circuits and components in electronic device 1200 may beimplemented using any combination of analog and/or digital circuitry,including: bipolar, PMOS and/or NMOS gates or transistors. Furthermore,signals in these embodiments may include digital signals that haveapproximately discrete values and/or analog signals that have continuousvalues. Additionally, components and circuits may be single-ended ordifferential, and power supplies may be unipolar or bipolar.

An integrated circuit (which is sometimes referred to as a‘communication circuit’ or a ‘means for communication’) may implementsome or all of the functionality of networking subsystem 1214. Theintegrated circuit may include hardware and/or software mechanisms thatare used for transmitting wireless signals from electronic device 1200and receiving signals at electronic device 1200 from other electronicdevices. Aside from the mechanisms herein described, radios aregenerally known in the art and hence are not described in detail. Ingeneral, networking subsystem 1214 and/or the integrated circuit caninclude any number of radios. Note that the radios in multiple-radioembodiments function in a similar way to the described single-radioembodiments.

In some embodiments, networking subsystem 1214 and/or the integratedcircuit include a configuration mechanism (such as one or more hardwareand/or software mechanisms) that configures the radio(s) to transmitand/or receive on a given communication channel (e.g., a given carrierfrequency). For example, in some embodiments, the configurationmechanism can be used to switch the radio from monitoring and/ortransmitting on a given communication channel to monitoring and/ortransmitting on a different communication channel. (Note that‘monitoring’ as used herein comprises receiving signals from otherelectronic devices and possibly performing one or more processingoperations on the received signals)

In some embodiments, an output of a process for designing the integratedcircuit, or a portion of the integrated circuit, which includes one ormore of the circuits described herein may be a computer-readable mediumsuch as, for example, a magnetic tape or an optical or magnetic disk.The computer-readable medium may be encoded with data structures orother information describing circuitry that may be physicallyinstantiated as the integrated circuit or the portion of the integratedcircuit. Although various formats may be used for such encoding, thesedata structures are commonly written in: Caltech Intermediate Format(CIF), Calma GDS II Stream Format (GDSII) or Electronic DesignInterchange Format (EDIF). Those of skill in the art of integratedcircuit design can develop such data structures from schematics of thetype detailed above and the corresponding descriptions and encode thedata structures on the computer-readable medium. Those of skill in theart of integrated circuit fabrication can use such encoded data tofabricate integrated circuits that include one or more of the circuitsdescribed herein.

While the preceding discussion used Wi-Fi and/or Ethernet communicationprotocols as illustrative examples, in other embodiments a wide varietyof communication protocols and, more generally, communication techniquesmay be used. Thus, the communication techniques may be used in a varietyof network interfaces. Furthermore, while some of the operations in thepreceding embodiments were implemented in hardware or software, ingeneral the operations in the preceding embodiments can be implementedin a wide variety of configurations and architectures. Therefore, someor all of the operations in the preceding embodiments may be performedin hardware, in software or both. For example, at least some of theoperations in the communication techniques may be implemented usingprogram instructions 1222, operating system 1224 (such as a driver forinterface circuit 1218) or in firmware in interface circuit 1218.Alternatively or additionally, at least some of the operations in thecommunication techniques may be implemented in a physical layer, such ashardware in interface circuit 1218.

Additionally, while the preceding embodiments illustrated the use ofwireless signals in one or more bands of frequencies, in otherembodiments of these signals may be communicated in one or more bands offrequencies, including: a microwave frequency band, a radar frequencyband, 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz, and/or a band of frequencies usedby a Citizens Broadband Radio Service or by LTE. In some embodiments,the communication between electronic devices uses multi-usertransmission (such as orthogonal frequency division multiple access orOFDMA).

In the preceding description, we refer to ‘some embodiments.’ Note that‘some embodiments’ describes a subset of all of the possibleembodiments, but does not always specify the same subset of embodiments.Moreover, note that numerical values in the preceding embodiments areillustrative examples of some embodiments. In other embodiments of thecommunication technique, different numerical values may be used.

The foregoing description is intended to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the disclosure, and is provided in the contextof a particular application and its requirements. Moreover, theforegoing descriptions of embodiments of the present disclosure havebeen presented for purposes of illustration and description only. Theyare not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure tothe forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations willbe apparent to practitioners skilled in the art, and the generalprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments andapplications without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure. Additionally, the discussion of the preceding embodiments isnot intended to limit the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, butis to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles andfeatures disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: an interfacecircuit configured to wirelessly communicate with a second electronicdevice, wherein the interface circuit is configured to: transmit amulti-basic service set (BSS) beacon that comprises a transmitted basicservice set identifier (BSSID) and one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs,wherein the transmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDshave separate wireless connection interfaces and different capabilities;transmit individual beacons for each of the transmitted BSSID and theone or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, wherein a given BSSID in a givenindividual beacon corresponds to one of: the transmitted BSSID or agiven one of the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs; receive a proberequest associated with the second electronic device, where the proberequest comprises a multi-BSS indication; and selectively transmit aprobe response in response to the probe request, wherein a type of theprobe response is based at least in part on the multi-BSS indication. 2.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when the multi-BSS indicationindicates that the second electronic device supports multi-BSS, the typeof the probe response comprises an aggregated probe response for thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.
 3. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein, when the multi-BSS indicationindicates that the second electronic device does not support multi-BSS,the probe response does not comprise an aggregated probe response. 4.The electronic device of claim 3, wherein, when the probe request is abroadcast probe request with a wild-card service set identifier (SSID),the probe response comprises individual probe responses for thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.
 5. Theelectronic device of claim 4, wherein the transmitted BSSID iscompatible with a first Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, a non-transmitted BSSID in the one ormore non-transmitted BSSIDs is compatible with a second IEEE 802.11communication protocol that is different from the first IEEE 802.11standard, and the transmitted BSSID shares an SSID with thenon-transmitted BSSID.
 6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein thefirst IEEE 802.11 standard comprises one or more of: IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, or IEEE 802.11ac, and the secondIEEE 802.11 standard comprises IEEE 802.11ax.
 7. The electronic deviceof claim 1, wherein the given BSSID is different from the transmittedBSSID or the given one of the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.
 8. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises anaccess point.
 9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when theprobe request comprises a broadcast probe request with a wild-cardservice set identifier (SSID), the probe response comprises thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, or theprobe response comprises the transmitted BSSID and one or moreadditional BSSIDs that correspond to the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs.
 10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein, when the proberequest comprises a broadcast probe request with a wild-card service setidentifier (SSID), the probe response comprises the transmitted BSSIDand the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, or the probe responsecomprises the transmitted BSSID and one or more additional BSSIDs thatcorrespond to the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.
 11. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium for use in conjunctionwith an electronic device, the computer-readable storage medium storingprogram instructions, wherein, when executed by the electronic device,the program instructions cause the electronic device to perform one ormore operations comprising: transmitting a multi-basic service set (BSS)beacon that comprises a transmitted basic service set identifier (BSSID)and one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, wherein the transmitted BSSIDand the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs have separate wirelessconnection interfaces and different capabilities; transmittingindividual beacons for each of the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs, wherein a given BSSID in a given individualbeacon corresponds to one of: the transmitted BSSID or a given one ofthe one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs; receiving a probe requestassociated with a second electronic device, where the probe requestcomprises a multi-BSS indication; and selectively transmitting a proberesponse in response to the probe request, wherein a type of the proberesponse is based at least in part on the multi-BSS indication.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein,when the multi-BSS indication indicates that the second electronicdevice supports multi-BSS, the type of the probe response comprises anaggregated probe response for the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs; and wherein, when the multi-BSS indicationindicates that the second electronic device does not support multi-BSS,the probe response does not comprise an aggregated probe response. 13.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11,wherein, when the probe request is a broadcast probe request with awild-card service set identifier (SSID), the probe response comprisesindividual probe responses for the transmitted BSSID and the one or morenon-transmitted BSSIDs.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 11, wherein the given BSSID is different from thetransmitted BSSID or the given one of the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs.
 15. A method for selectively transmitting a probe response,comprising: by an electronic device: transmitting a multi-basic serviceset (BSS) beacon that comprises a transmitted basic service setidentifier (BSSID) and one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, wherein thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs haveseparate wireless connection interfaces and different capabilities;transmitting individual beacons for each of the transmitted BSSID andthe one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, wherein a given BSSID in a givenindividual beacon corresponds to one of: the transmitted BSSID or agiven one of the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs; receiving a proberequest associated with a second electronic device, where the proberequest comprises a multi-BSS indication; and selectively transmittingthe probe response in response to the probe request, wherein a type ofthe probe response is based at least in part on the multi-BSSindication.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein, when the multi-BSSindication indicates that the second electronic device supportsmulti-BSS, the type of the probe response comprises an aggregated proberesponse for the transmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein, when the multi-BSSindication indicates that the second electronic device does not supportmulti-BSS, the probe response does not comprise an aggregated proberesponse.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein, when the probe request isa broadcast probe request with a wild-card service set identifier(SSID), the probe response comprises individual probe responses for thetransmitted BSSID and the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.
 19. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the given BSSID is different from thetransmitted BSSID or the given one of the one or more non-transmittedBSSIDs.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein, when the probe requestcomprises a broadcast probe request with a wild-card service setidentifier (SSID), the probe response comprises the transmitted BSSIDand the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs, or the probe responsecomprises the transmitted BSSID and one or more additional BSSIDs thatcorrespond to the one or more non-transmitted BSSIDs.